Encouraging Moms at Home

Tips, Tricks and Tools for the #MomWin

  • Home
  • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Brand Inquiries
    • Full Disclosure
    • Our Writing Team
  • Homemaking
    • Cleaning
    • Essential Oils
    • Recipes
      • Instant Pot
      • Gluten Free Dairy Free
      • Using Produce
      • Cooking with Pumpkin
    • Nutrition
    • Food Preservation
  • Homeschooling
    • Homeschool Resources
    • Homeschool Encouragement
    • Homeschool High School
    • Special Needs
    • Homeschooling Art
    • Homeschool STEM
    • Charlotte Mason
    • Homeschool Technology
    • Teen and Tween Writers
    • Homeschool Notebooking
  • Teaching Ideas
    • Free Printables
    • MInecraft
    • LEGO
    • Fine Motor Skills
  • Family Life
    • Gift Guides
    • Kid’s Activities
    • Summer Fun
    • Hiking
    • Moving
    • Christian Life
      • Christian Family Activities
      • Scripture Memory
      • Poetry
      • Creation
      • Advent and Christmas
      • Thanksgiving
  • Moms
    • Encouragement
    • Budget And Finances
    • Mom Fashion
    • Date Your Spouse
    • Work At Home
  • Shop
    • My Account

The Benefits of Paper Dolls for Children

by Crystal Wagner 3 Comments

Posts contain affiliate links. This means, if you choose to make a purchase, I will make a commission at no extra cost to you. For more information please see our full disclosure.
165shares
  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Do you remember playing with paper dolls when you were a child? It seems to be a lost past time today. My girls spend HOURS playing with them, but when we mention paper dolls to others we sometimes receive blank stares. In an age with so much emphasis on mobile apps, video games, and movies, paper dolls have so many benefits.

Benefits of Paper Dolls

Creativity and Imagination

Creativity and imagination are important life skills. Without them, it would be difficult to solve complex problems and find new solutions. Writers, inventors, scientists, and moms are all creative people. (Remember the last time your child had a meltdown? You probably had to be creative to get through it!)

Creative pretend play has been associated with increased creative performance later in life. Paper dolls provide an excellent opportunity for open-ended pretend play. The possibilities for creative stories are limitless. There have been days my girls have had six different sets of paper dolls out at once telling a mega story. I often hear, “Let’s pretend…”

Have you ever considered the benefits of Paper Dolls? They don't have to be an antique thing of the past. Take a look at these great printable resources to encourage creativity, imagination, and fine motor skills.

Social development

Children often have difficulty working through new, challenging, or fearful situations. Pretend play is one way for children to work through these emotions in a non-threatening way. It allows them to explore different aspects of the situation and think out loud. Paper dolls provide an appropriate medium for children to work through these situations.

Pretend play with paper dolls allows us to hear how our a child perceives his environment. I am sure you have heard your words and mannerisms come out of your child’s mouth. They pick up more than you realize, especially when you don’t want them to.

Unfortunately, sometimes they misunderstand us. When my brother and I were young, he overheard a friend telling my mom that her husband was going to kill her when he heard what happened. My brother didn’t understand that it was just a phrase meaning he would be upset. He was really concerned for this friend’s safety until my mom explained the situation. We can help our children with misunderstandings like these when we hear them in their pretend play.

Oral communication skills and auditory development

Telling a story with paper dolls increases a child’s oral communication skills. They are narrating what they see and hear. They have the opportunity to use new words and try them out in different situations.

When children tell stories through pretend play, they hear spoken language which helps them make a connection between the spoken and written language. This connection will be beneficial later when they are learning to read.

Fine Motor Skills

Paper dolls come in all varieties. Some need to be punched out. Some need to be cut out. Some even allow children to color them in, thus engaging even more creativity. All of these provide practice with fine motor skills. Playing with the dolls provides practice with fine motor skills as well as the child moves the dolls around and changes their clothes (most utilize little tabs to hold the clothes onto the doll).

Our Favorite Paper Dolls

Paper dolls by Kathryn Winterscheidt

  • Paper Dolls by Kathryn Winterscheidt—These delightfully hand-drawn paper dolls come with six girls, nine family members and pets, and over one hundred clothing options and accessories. It is a PDF download so you can print as many copies as you want and color them over and over.
  • Children of the World—These paper dolls are to be colored in. They are great for encouraging creativity.
  • Printable Paper Dolls from Around the World
  • My Book of Little House Paper Dolls: The Big Woods Collection
  • Flower Fairies Paper Dolls
  • Disney Princess magnetic paper dolls-These magnetic paper dolls come in a metal tin that is great for travel.
  • Dover Paper Dolls—These tend to be a little more difficult to cut out so some adult assistance may be needed.
  • American Girl Paper Dolls
  • Melissa and Doug wooden dress-up dolls—These are great for younger children.

Amy’s Note: The Paper Dolls used in this pinnable image were created from these two Dover books which include a wonderful CD for printing. The images can then be colored by the child and cut out.

Historic Costumes from Ancient Times to the Renaissance by Tom Tierney

Historic Costumes from the Renaissance to the 19th Century by Tom Tierney

165shares
  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Disclosure

3 Comments
Homeschooling, Kid's Activities

Comments

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  1. Momma Jo says

    October 20, 2015 at 5:28 AM

    My girls LOVE paper dolls. I now add magnets to them for them to play with on the refrigerator while I’m cooking (it also keeps the preschooler busy when I need some time to do one on one work with the older kids).

    Reply
    • Amy Blevins says

      October 20, 2015 at 2:14 PM

      That’s a great idea!

      Reply
  2. Maria Maia says

    August 20, 2017 at 8:09 PM

    I love paper dolls since my chilhood. Now I play with my grandaughter

    Reply

Search

Our Favorite Essential Oils

Essential Oil blend for Concentration and Focus

Keep In Touch

  • Shop
  • Contact Us
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • About Encouraging Moms at Home
  • Brand Inquiries
  • Full Disclosure with Privacy Policy
  • Our Writing Team

Kids Can Learn with LEGO Bricks

Our Latest Shenanigans

See these pretty little plants playing peekaboo? I See these pretty little plants playing peekaboo? I thought they were goners. See, my sister gave us the bulbs for Asiatic Lillies for Christmas last year, down in a bag full of dirt and told us to take them home and plant them in the cold so they would rest and come back next year. Or freeze them. I did neither. I knew we weren’t in our own home yet, and we were hoping to move into our forever home this summer, so I threw them in the closet and waited. They stayed dormant, and started to develop roots in the Spring, still in the bag in my closet. Come June 5, we moved into our new house, and I pulled out the bag around June 15 to plant them and found that the roots were turning to mush. The bulbs were starting to rot. I planted them anyway, but to make matters worse, I accidentally planted them upside down because I thought the roots were actually sprouts. Oops. Then, I hired my boys and their friends to weed the bed where these are planted and forgot to tell them to leave these alone. The “sprouts” disappeared. I thought they were gone forever. Here it is the middle of August, and a week or so ago, I found these baby Asiatic Lillies coming up. I texted a pic to my sis to ask if this was what they look like. Sure enough after all that trauma, this gift survived. I won’t have blooms this year, but I’m told they will come back next year and survive to bloom. What a sweet blessing that will be, God willing. And a sweet reminder to persevere under trials and hardship. God is doing something bigger, something hidden, something better than we can ever imagine. Hang in there! #momlife #momfierce #momforthewin #firmlyplanted
Today I’ve been sorting through some heavy stuff Today I’ve been sorting through some heavy stuff, especially the unmasking of pedophilia and it’s prominence in the US and in our backyards. This horrifies and frightens me. I am so grateful to know that God will prevail. In the end, He wins. Everything seems so dark here in the US and it’s because of the spiritual forces of evil — but I know God will prevail. His love never fails. I’m putting my hope in this truth. #loveneverfails #godwins #godisgreater #momlife #momfierce
I’m grateful to have prayer in my life. Worry st I’m grateful to have prayer in my life. Worry steals so much joy. 
I’ve also been grateful for the Pray Fierce Summit summit. You can listen free each day by looking for the preview buttons. 
#prayfierce
Join us in prayer? The link is in my profile. List Join us in prayer? The link is in my profile. Listen free each day by looking for the highlighted “preview” buttons. #praynow #prayfortheworld  #prayerchangesthings
⁣ ⁣I love this. In the ESV it says be Faithful ⁣
⁣I love this. In the ESV it says be Faithful in Prayer. That’s one of my goals in life! ⁣
⁣
⁣
⁣It’s also one of the goals of the Pray Fierce Summit - to help moms be faithful in prayer. ⁣
⁣
⁣
⁣It’s free to listen each day — I hope you will join us! ⁣
⁣
⁣
⁣You can listen free by clicking the preview buttons on the sessions labeled “watch free!” - find the clickable link in my bio!⁣
⁣
⁣
⁣https://mom-fierce.teachable.com/p/moms-pray-fierce-summit⁣
⁣
⁣
⁣
⁣
⁣
#prayfierce #prayformoms #prayerrocks #prayer #pray #momfierce #momwins #momlife
Guess what showed up on my doorstep this morning? Guess what showed up on my doorstep this morning? Chicken for my freezer! I’ve been struggling to find meat at reasonable prices, so I was very glad to find this. If you want chicken Use code Farmer10 to get 10% off too. Use my #linkinprofile to support my #ladyboss business! #homelife #familylife #momlife #chicken #linkinbio
This is such a tough time for so many. Our hearts This is such a tough time for so many. Our hearts and prayers are with you if you are struggling today. Reach out if you have a need. You are loved. 💕
There are so many things I need to tell you about There are so many things I need to tell you about this picture. First #sheisloved campaign with @mercyhouseglobal and sheispriceless.org - check that out it’s important. Second - that cute bracelet came from @mercyhouseglobal about a month ago and *didn’t fit*. Today it’s loose enough to twist. I haven’t lost a lot of pounds according to the scale — I kinda stalled out three or four weeks ago at 17 pounds lost — but apparently I’m losing fat. That’s a victory. Third, my hands look like my moms and will some day look like my grandmas. I consider that a blessing.  Finally, it’s been a beautiful day😍 but I’m kinda sad it took me this long to find a red marker and share the love. If you have one handy, it’s not too late to jump on board with @wearethatfamily and be a world-changer! #worldchanger #momfierce #prayformoms #especiallyteenmomsinkenya #mymomrocks
How was Mother’s Day for you. It can be an incre How was Mother’s Day for you. It can be an incredible blessing or bring incredible pain. In whatever your circumstance, I will pray that you rest in God’s presence today. #mom #momlife #momwins #momfierce #momsofinstagram #2020mom
Follow on Instagram
Copyright ©2021, Encouraging Moms at Home. All Rights Reserved. Custom design by Pixel Me Designs